Refine Search

Imitate Their Faith

¹ The apostle Paul defined faith as “the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld.” He added that “without faith it is impossible to please [God] well.” (Heb. 11:1, 6) Paul urged us to exercise faith, overflow with it, and pursue it.—2 Cor. 4:13; Col. 2:7; 2 Tim. 2:22.

² There are many outstanding examples of faith recounted in the Bible. In Hebrews chapter 11, Paul gives a long list of witnesses who demonstrated unbreakable faith. Included in this list is Abel, who was the first to be martyred for his faith. Noah is listed because by his faith he showed the godly fear that was needed to save his household. Abraham is commended for his faith and obedience. Moses is praised because by his faith he continued steadfast as seeing the One who is invisible. The list of examples was so long that Paul said time would fail him if he went on to relate all of them. How thankful we are that we can strengthen our faith by reviewing their “holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion”!—2 Pet. 3:11.

³ In the first century, Jesus posed the question: “When the Son of man arrives, will he really find the faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) Well, then, do we have living examples of faith among us today? Do we see men and women, both young and old, manifesting unshakable faith in Jehovah as was true of God’s people in Bible times?

⁴ Modern-Day Examples of Faith: Outstanding examples of faith are to be found all around us! The faith of overseers who are taking the lead among us is worthy of imitation. (Heb. 13:7) But these are not the only ones exemplary in faith. Associated with every congregation are loyal ones who have a long record of faithful service to Jehovah, often performed under very difficult circumstances.

⁵ We must admire our faithful sisters who, for years, have endured opposition from opposing husbands. Single parents have had to meet the challenge of raising children alone. There are older widows among us who are never missing from congregation activities even though they may have no family to help them. (Compare Luke 2:37.) We marvel at the faith of those who endure chronic health problems. Many continue to serve loyally even though they have limitations that prevent them from being assigned extra privileges of service. There are young Witnesses who have courageously exercised faith despite opposition in school. Our godly devotion grows stronger as we observe faithful pioneers who persevere year after year in the face of untold problems. Just like Paul, time would fail us if we tried to relate all the experiences in Kingdom service and the acts of faith performed by these brothers and sisters!

⁶ These examples of faithful ones give us comfort and encouragement. (1 Thess. 3:7, 8) We do well to imitate their faith because “those acting in faithfulness are a pleasure to [Jehovah].”—Prov. 12:22.